Polk County Supervisor of Elections

Bell: My top three priorities are as follows:
1. Educating and registering voters across all of Polk County,
2. Ensuring that every voter is counted fairly.
3. Making the Supervisor of Elections office more accessible and accountable to the constituents of Polk County.

Edwards: 1. Maintaining confidence in the integrity of our elections. I will address this by continuing to conduct fair and secure elections in a transparent manner.
2. I will continue to stay vigilant against voter fraud. One of the best defenses against voter fraud is to continue regular maintenance of the voter rolls for improved accuracy.
3. Outreach to all of Polk County’s communities is an important way to ensure that voters have accurate information about their rights and responsibilities.

Bell: I am running for Polk County Supervisor of Elections in order to bring a new perspective to the office. I believe my perspective as a former City Commissioner and Mayor, a former County Commissioner and Chairman, and a State Representative will provide me a unique ability to effectively run successful elections in Polk County by working closely with elected officials throughout the county to ensure each election is safe and secure.

Edwards: Running the Supervisor of Elections office is a challenging responsibility that takes knowledge, commitment and daily hard work. I’m honored that Polk’s voters have demonstrated trust in our office, and I still have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for this job. I’m patriotic and have a great passion for preserving our democracy. I am the most qualified candidate for this position.

Bell: As your Supervisor of Elections I will ensure that our office is accessible and accountable to the constituents. Transparency is key to rebuilding the trust our voters have in our election process.

Edwards: Assuring voters of voting system security relies on public transparency and voter education. Along with social and traditional media, office tours are an effective way to help inform people of all we are doing to protect the vote. I also take the time for one-on-one interactions with Polk’s voters who have genuine concerns. People are usually relieved to know all we do with cybersecurity, physical security, training and vulnerability testing.

Bell: Yes. I believe that we must ensure that all of our US citizens in Polk County are registered and able to vote on Election Day. We must also secure our elections by requiring that voters present proof of citizenship and photo ID. Finally, we must that we audit the voter rolls and remove those that are no longer eligible to vote in Polk County. As your Supervisor of Elections I will rely on my longstanding relationships with the FL Legislature to create better election policy.

Edwards: My highest priority for a legislative change is to protect voter’s data. Current law requires us to provide information in a voter’s record to anyone who requests it. This privacy violation adds to the threat of identity theft. I would also like to see the law changed to make it easier for our military overseas to cast a ballot. Currently they must mail or fax their ballot back for it to count. Many deployed service members are far away from the nearest mailbox. Fax machines? Ha!

Bell: I am glad that Polk County is now abiding by the ruling handed down by the Florida Supreme in 2019 which requires constitutional officers to run in partisan elections. Running in partisan elections allows the voters to be better informed as to where each candidate in each race stands on the issues that face voters in their day-to-day lives.

Edwards: I don’t see any advantage to Supervisor of Elections being partisan. Under my leadership this office has built relationships and earned the trust of voters of all parties as well as voters with no party affiliation. The Supervisor of Elections should not show favoritism or participate in party politics.